Nami Island (South Korea)

January 3, 2011

Tall, leafless trees lined up neatly along a path. Golden leaves paving the way on the floor. The cold December air and a frozen river on your right. Autumn and winter side by side. It felt like I was walking inside a fairytale book.

Nami Island in South Korea is seriously one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to in my entire life. It’s famous for being the shooting place of the Koreanovela “Winter Sonata” (but I didn’t know that, because I don’t watch Koreanovelas.)

You don’t need to be fan of the show though to appreciate the charm of the place. Hee! It was so much fun just sitting on the floor and playing with the leaves. (Yes, even though it was freezing cold!)

Also, I am a sucker for tall trees and forest-like places (my fiance always jokes about him chopping down a tree and giving it to me as a gift…)

…and the best thing about Nami Island is that everywhere you look, there are just so many trees so you don’t have to worry about waiting for people to finish their photo-op before you can have your own. And there are so many, photo-worthy places. This is why me and my brothers have tons of photos here. Yup, we sure took our time!

People kept telling us that we could pass off as Koreans. I get that a lot here too; sometimes sales people would say “Annyeong!” to me when I enter a shop. Then I start speaking in Filipino, and they get startled.

Nami Island looks different at different seasons. I might be biased, by I think winter season’s the best time to go. My friend visited there during summer/spring time and she never remembered it as something extraordinary. I guess the cool weather also helps in making you feel like you’re in another world.

And nothing beats rushing to the nearest restaurant inside the park afterwards and drinking a nice hot cup of tea (was craving for some gingerbread though, which sadly didn’t come in other forms aside from these inedible ones.)

(NOTE: THIS POST IS ABOUT OUR EXPERIENCE LAST DECEMBER 2010.)

Sheena is a 29 year old illustrator and designer who loves to travel. She is also a wife and a mom. She hopes that through her work, she can inspire people to go out and see the beauty of God's creation first hand.